Loved Forever
by mockingjay45
Summary: In the epilogue of mockingjay, Katniss and Peeta are happily married. This story goes through all the details from the proposal to the wedding itself. Please read!
1. Chapter 1

The wedding

I own no rights to the original story of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. All rights belong to Scholastic and Suzanne Collins. This story is completely fan made except for the characters, locations, and objects introduced in The Hunger Games.

Part 1:

The proposal

"Hurry, Katniss!" Peeta yells as he tugs my arm trough the newly constructed seam taking me where the big wire fence used to be. I can feel his hands sweating against my green long-sleeved shirt. I can feel how tense he is in his grip. Never in my life have I seen Peeta Mellark so excited and nervous.

"Peeta, would you slow down?" I ask, "Where are we going anyway?"

"You'll see." he responds. We are passing the exact spot where the fence dividing district 12 and the woods was. There is still a slight mark on the ground that was left by the fence but is slowly being covered by the grass. As we enter the woods where I used to hunt with Gale, Peeta goes master as if escaping from a beast. The path is full of trees, branches, leaves, and animals. If I haven't been in the woods before, I would probably be tripping constantly, but I am the one who has to help Peeta once in a while since he is not as familiar with the terrain. I take my eyes off the floor to look at Peeta.

He has a determined, jet cheerful look in his eyes. Then I noticed that while his left hand is holding on to my arm, his right hand is holding on to the pocket in his pants as if was holding on to so meeting very important. I look at his shirt. It's the same blue polo shirt I got him for his birthday last year. He only wears it in especial occasions. He has only worn this shirt on my birthday and on the Christmas we spend with my mom. Why would he wear it to a simple trip to the woods?

I am so lost in my thoughts that I stumble over an old branch in the middle of the way. "Watch out!" Peeta exclaims as he help me to regain my balance. As I start walking again, I take a look at Peeta's shoes. They are not hiking boots, on tennis, but black, closed shoes. _He must be killing himself walking on this terrain with that kind of shoes_, I think. I know he is up to something, but I can't quite put my finger in it. Peeta starts to show down. We have been walking for almost an hour now, so I am sure if he is stopping because he is tired or if we have already arrived. I hear the sound of water rushing through rocks. I have been here before. This is the waterfall I used to go to when I was hopeless and scared, when I have nightmares, and when I felt that all of the people who died in the war, died because of me. I call this the waterfall of hope. The sound of the water always gives me hope, I don´t really know why. I have only shared this place with Gale and Peeta, but only Peeta know what it means to me. "We are here." Peeta announces. He takes me over to the edge of the waterfall for me to seat in a big, wet, rock, and stands in front of me looking the most nervous he has ever looked.

"Peeta, what are we doing here?" I ask.

"Katniss Everdeen," he starts, "I love you. I have loved you ever since I was five and I will love you until the grave. You have been the best thing that has ever happened to me. I have learned to trust you and Project you. I don't know what I would do without you." Now he is looking me directly in the eyes. "Katniss, I love you so much! I only want what is best for you and I will accept whatever your choice is, but I would be honored if you spend the rest of my life with me." Now he is kneeling down. I am shocked this is happening. I am almost screaming. A tear of happiness falls on my cheek. "Katniss Everdeen, will you marry me?"

As he proposes, Peeta grabs a bright red box out of his pocket and opens it showing me an especially made wedding ring. I am so stunned teas are flowing like crazy out my eyes. As I smile I nod to answer him and in a Saint whisper I say, "Yes." He smiles as he grabs the ring and slips it into my ring finger on my left hand. We both lean into the best kiss I ever had. It was soft and full of passion. It didn't feel forced or unfamiliar, it felt natural and pleasant. I wish this moment lasted forever, but it was only a couple minutes before Peeta finally moved away from me and gave me a smile. He helped me stand up and we held hands as we started walking back where we came from.

We started talking and Peeta proposed a small private wedding on the woods. I loved the idea so I automatically approved it. We walked home and saw the sunset together. Peeta brought a special cake for dinner. It is red velvet with strawberry filling, my favorite. We finally went to bed. Peeta wishes me good night and soon I drift off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2:

Gale

I had a dream that night. I was getting in my wedding gown. I give a look at myself at the mirror. The sun was reflecting against my dress, making it more visible for everyone that it was the black mockingjay dress Cinna burned and died for. Suddenly the door slowly opens. "Peeta," I announce slowly turning my attention to the door, "it's bad luck for the groom to see the bride in her wed-" but I couldn't finish because a pair of lips pressed against mine kissing me. But it was not Peeta who was kissing me, it was Gale. I quickly push him away. "Gale!" I scream wiping my lips from his kiss, "What did you just do? I am getting married today!"

"Katniss," Gale smoothly began, "I love you. I want you to be with me forever. We are made for each other."

"Gale, didn't you hear me? I am getting married! Committed to Peeta for life! Do you understand?"

"You know how I feel. It's not too late to back out. Think about it." Gale replied as he left the room. I start to cry uncertain of my decision, when suddenly the room started shaking.

"Katniss," I hear someone whisper, "Wake up, Katniss." I open my eyes to see Peeta lying next to me shaking me and saying my name. My eyes are teary. I realize I woke up Peeta while crying in my sleep. "Another nightmare?" he asks, "Want to talk about it?" I shake my head not even sure if it was a nightmare.

"No," I respond, "I am fine, I just want to go back to sleep." Peeta holds me tight, close to his chest.

"Remember, I am here for you." He kisses my forehead, "Good night, Katniss." He quickly drifts to sleep while I keep thinking about Gale, and what his reaction will be to me getting married. Will he be happy for me? Will he feel jealous? Will he want me to call off the wedding? As I think about this my eyelids get heavy and I drift off to sleep.

I wake up really early the next day. The sun just came up and Peeta is still asleep. I walk out of bed without disturbing him and go don't to the kitchen. I make myself the one thing I know how to do in this kitchen, a cup of coffee. I open the fridge and grab a slice of the left over cake. I move to the dining table and start to drink my coffee thinking about how Gale will react to the news. Today I will have to tell my friends and my mom, my only family left, the news.

I try to distract myself by looking at my ring. I now see how specially made is the ring. The ring is golden with rubies going around it. In the middle there is a diamond surrounded by yellow topazes. I now realize it mimics a primrose. I take off the ring to study it better. As I study the ring, I see letters inscribed inside. I look at them and read: _For the girl who set my heart on fire; Katniss, my only girl on fire._ I read it several times remembering when we first had feelings for each other.

I hear someone walking down the stairs. I quickly place the ring back on my finger before his blue eyes spot me. "Good morning, Katniss." Peeta called as he walked over to the coffee machine.

"Good morning." I respond, "I woke up early and decided to come down and have some leftovers from yesterday." He turns around and stares at me giggling.

"Without a fork?" he asks. I look at my cake and indeed I forgot to grab a fork. I stand up without saying a word, walk to the kitchen, grab a fork, and sit back down in the dining room. "Something is bothering you, Katniss." Peeta stated, "You can tell me."

"It's nothing" I lie.

"Katniss, I can detect when you are lying since we were 16, remember?"Peeta pointed out. "Tell me."

"It's Gale," I admit, "he is like a brother to me, but he loves me. I am not sure how he is going to react to us getting married. I want him to be with me in the wedding but I am scared telling him might push him away."

"Well," Peeta suggested, "if he is really in love with you, he would be happy for you. I know that I would be if you were marrying him." I stay deep in thought. Peeta is right, he should be happy for me; I would if he married someone else. I silently eat my cake while Peeta drinks his coffee.


	3. Chapter 3

Part 3

Announcements

When we are both done I announce, "Well, let's start to make calls." Peeta smiles at me knowing that I have gotten hove my depression. I smile back. He gets up, takes the dishes to the sink, and starts to wash them. When he finishes, he goes upstairs to his room to rest for a while. I walk over to the living room drawer and pull out my almost empty phone book. I turn to the E section for Everdeen and find my mom's number. I quietly dial hoping that she will have a positive reaction or a reaction at all. She has been cold to everyone since Prim passed away. I hear the phone ringing but nobody picks up. It's her free day." My mom responds.

"Mom?" I say

"Katniss?"Mom says stunned, "It's been so long since your last call, is something wrong?"

"Mom," I spoke, "I have something really important to tell you. Please listen for a second." There was sudden silence when I blurted out, "I'm getting married!"

"Katniss don't joke. I don't like when you joke around like that." my mom demanded.

"Mom, I'm serious! Peeta proposed yesterday!" I scream.

"So you are really getting married. Wow! Honey I am so happy for you! I always wished for you to have love in your life!"My mom exclaimed, "So, when is the wedding?"

"We still haven't decided, but we will keep you in touch." I respond.

My mom sights, "Well, I guess you have a lot of phone calls to make so I'll leave you alone for now. Bye, sweetie. Congratulate Peeta for me."

"I will, Bye mom." I say as I hang up. Next on the list, Gale. I decide to leave Gale at last so I decide to dial Haymitch instead, but when he picks up the phone I can assume he is drunk by all the nonsense he is blurting out so I hang up. After that is Johanna. I start to talk to her about the wedding, but somehow I end up talking to her about Gale.

"I am sure he will be happy for you." Johanna comforts, "Well, got a date that I don't want to be late to. Bye Katniss!"

"Bye, Johanna." I respond and hang up. Next on the list, Beetee. It was a little harder reaching him because he is constantly on trips to other districts, and when I finally reach him, I only talk to him for a minute because he has to get back to work. Next, I call Annie. It's hard to hold a conversation with her since she has been extremely distracted since Finnick died and she had to raise his son on her own. I hang up and decide to call her again tomorrow just in case she forgets. After this, I also call Flavius, Octavia, Venia, Effie, and Greasy Sae. I call Haymitch once more but he is still drunk so I make a mental note to call him tomorrow or to leave him a note at his home.

Lastly I call Gale. My hands are shaking as I dial his number. "Hello." Gale says.

"Hi Gale, its Katniss," I respond, "I call to tell you that…um…"

"Catnip," Gale stated, "you can tell me anything. You were never shy around me, what is happening?"

"Peeta and I, well, kind of got engaged yesterday" I answered.

"Oh," Gale responded in a disappointing voice, "Good for you. I wish you the best."

"Gale, you sound disappointed, why is that?" I ask already knowing the answer.

"I guess I am a bit jealous, but as your friend I am happy for you. I got to go to work. See ya, Catnip." He hangs up without letting me say good-bye. I hope he shows up for the wedding; I want him to be there with me.

"Peeta! You can start calling you friends!" I yell. He comes down running with his phonebook on hand. I see the wall clock on top of me is marking already 1:00 P.M. "It's late," I announce, "I'll go hunting for food while you do your calls. I'll be back soon."

"You better be," he responds as he leans over and kisses me, "because we have a lot to plan." I go upstairs, put on my hunting boots, grab my bow and arrows, go back down, and head outside.


	4. Chapter 4

Part 4

Hunting

Note: It's the future, so it is not mean to call an adult by their first name.

The air outside is cool but it's compensated by the overpowering hear of the sun. I start to walk in the direction of the meadow. The sidewalk is burning through my boots, but I ignore this. With my mind having so much to think I ignore my surroundings for completely. As I go through the meadow, and start to enter the woods, I am still thinking of Gale. Did he really have to go to work, or was he that jealous. I am so deep in my thoughts that I don't notice an eight year old calling my name, running behind me. "Katniss," he screams "wait!" I turn around and see a boy with sea green eyes and blonde, orange hair, like his father.

"Hi, Jesub!" I respond. "I didn't notice you! How is Annie, I mean your mom doing?"

"Good!" Jesub enthusiastically says taking out a crumbled envelope from his pocket on his pants. "She said to give this to Peeta, but he wasn't in the bakery, so I started to look for you. Can you give this to him?" He hands me over the envelope. It has written in delicate letters _From Annie Cresta to Peeta Mellark_.

"Of course I'll give him this envelope!" I announce smiling at Jesub. As I put it in my hunting jacket, he catches a glimpse of my arrows.

"You know, I've always wanted to learn arketry." He innocently informs.

"Archery," I correct as I smile at the sweet mistake of Jesub, "and I can teach you if you want. Is your mom ok with that?"

"Yes, she even looked for classes, but she never found them." He reports.

"Then come," I invite Jesub, "I was just going to go hunting, I could teach you the basics. Dou you want to?"

"Yes!" He exclaims and rapidly holds my hand. For the first time in a long time I feel carefree and genuinely happy. We walk not so deep in the forest when I spot a squirrel.

"Stand back, Jesub." I warn. I draw my arrow back in my bow and hit the squirrel right in the eye as always. I look back at Jesub and realize he is looking at me as if I was a celebrity. I spent the next hour instructing Jesub on how to hold a bow, aim and shoot, and retrieve the arrow. He even manages to shoot a squirrel, but his arrow went straight through its tail. I had to finish the job by taking his arrow and piercing it through its eye. I retrieve it to Jesub this way so he can think he hit the squirrel in the eye, just like I do. He seems so proud of himself I can't help to hug him. We gather the arrows and head back home.

"I wish I was as good as you are, Katniss." He tells me, "Then I could shoot flies with my eyes closed!

"Keep practicing and someday, you will." I encourage. We finally arrive at Annie's home. "Bye, Jesub. Take care of yourself!" I say.

"Bye, Katniss. I had fun today. Thanks for teaching me arker, archer, archery!" He kisses me on the cheek and heads inside his home. I have never felt so happy. Being with him reminds me of my days with Prim. I look at my wedding ring and remember her sweet smile. A tear flows out of my eyes. How I miss her. Straightening my face, I head home to Peeta.


	5. Chapter 5

Part 5

Visits

When I open the door I see Peeta talking to some people in the living room. I spot a flash of pink, fake hair and bright green tinted skin. Only two names come to mind, Effie and Octavia. "Katniss!" Effie yells when she sees me entering the house. She stands up, walks over to me and awkwardly hugs me. "How long since I have last seen you! Look at you! You are getting thinner! Good for you!"

"Nice to see you, Effie!" I respond giving her a fake smile. "Peeta, did you invite them over?"

"No," Peeta says with a confused look in his face, "they came over by surprise to do some, um, pre-"

"Prenuptial fittings!" Effie cuts him off. "As I said before, you are getting so much thinner. Those wedding dresses are not going to fit you anymore! We have to adjust them to the present Katniss. I brought Octavia over to help me. Oh, and we also need to choose the perfect bridesmaid dresses!" Suddenly all the stress I left behind with Jesub came crashing back into me. _Yeah, Katniss,_ I think,_ Great idea of telling Effie about_ _the wedding when you knew she was going to react this way! Now I have to come up with an excuse for Effie not to do those fittings, at least not for now._

"But Effie," I argue, "we don't even know what the wedding day is. It's too early to do all the fitting and stuff!"

Effie pauses thoughtfully and then responds "I was thinking either may 9th or 12th. Either day is good. Oh, I almost forgot! We have to do a makeup and hair rehearsal so every turns out the way it's planned!" I am getting uncomfortable talking to Effie. Peeta looks at me and sees how I am reacting about Effie.

He steps up, walks next to me, places his hand in my shoulder and responds, "I think the date is supposed to be up to the couple to decide. Also, the fitting should be whenever Katniss decides. We were just getting ready to eat anyway. Whenever we are ready to do all the prenuptial stuff you were suggesting, we will call you, but for now, we should just decide on a date."

"Fantastic!" Effie yells, "What will we be eating today?" It seems that Effie doesn't get the message, but Octavia does so she walks over to Effie and whispers something in her ear. "Oh, now that I remember, I have another appointment. I have to leave, good bye Katniss."Effie says. She hugs me and walks out. Octavia also comes over and hugs me.

As she does this I whisper in her ear "Thank you. I was getting pretty frustrated with Effie."

"No problem," she whispers back, "congratulations on your wedding." They both leave without saying another word. Effie seemed frustrated but Octavia seemed relieved. I walk over to the kitchen and start skinning the squirrels.

"You left for an hour and you only shot two squirrels?" Peeta asks seemingly mad.

"You are only mad because you had to survive an hour of Effie talking and talking all by yourself!"I respond. I work a smile on Peeta's face. "I ran into Jesub in the meadow. He wanted me to teach him archery, which is what I did the last hour." I touch the pocket of my hunting jacket and remember the envelope. "He was looking for you." I inform, "Annie sent him to find you and give you this." I take out the envelope and hand it over to Peeta. He opens it, reads it and laughs. "What is it?" I ask.

"Nothing, just a large order of cookies." He responds. I can tell he is lying but I trust him and I trust there is a reason why he is lying to me and that it's really important. He places the letter in the kitchen cabinet and starts to mix flour with water to make bread. "You know, Effie did have a point." He remarks.

"That we should start planning the seating arrangement or that we should marry in May?" I mock.

Peeta laughs and responds, "That we should start planning, at least the date." He is now adding salt to his mixture. I give it a though and he is right, a wedding is something big, even if it is small.

"Ok." I respond as I grab a knife and start to cut the squirrels, "You always agree with the Capitol people, don't you?" He smiles, but I know he knows it's true.


	6. Chapter 6

Part 6

Primrose

I just finish the skinning and cutting of the squirrel Jesub shot while Peeta is molding the bread. When it comes to cooking I am completely lost so I go over to the sink and wash the blood of the unlucky squirrels from the knife and move to the dining table. I grab a pair of plates from the drawers on our dining table and set them. I also place knives and forks around the plates. I sit silently as I hear Peeta placing the cut meat in the stove. I sit there, with nothing to do but think. I remember that when I was small and uneducated about life, I used to see these big weddings in T.V., always between Capitol people, and wished that someday I would have a big wedding like those.

I was four when I saw the first wedding. It was between a model and a gamemaker in a giant park. She was wearing a beautiful white gown that floated like air around her. Her hair was done in a tight ponytail with diamonds in it. There were so many people, more than every kid in my school. It seemed magical. It was the middle of summer and still snow, which later I learned was artificial snow, was falling. There were flowers everywhere. I after that day I wished on stars every day. My wish was always the same. _I wish someday I marry someone I love and have a big wedding._

Some years after that, cruel reality got in my way and I realized that having a family suffering through the games was something I didn't want to do. I jump at the sight of a hand reaching to my plate. "Did I scare you?" Peeta asks while he quietly giggles.

"I was just distracted." I confirm. Peeta places a glass of water in front of me. He goes back to the kitchen for his own meal and sits on his side of the table. We quietly eat for a couple of minutes when I decide to break the silence, "Aren't we supposed to be discussing a date for the wedding?" I ask.

He takes a drink from his glass and responds "I was thinking on late March."

"Why late March?" I ask

"Because," he replies, "that is when the primroses bloom." When I hear these words, I can't help but think about Prim. She was always trying to find ways to make me happy when I was depressed. Now, in my wedding, the happiest day of my life, she couldn't be there. Peeta knows me well and knows how I am feeling. I can see what Peeta's intentions are for the wedding, to make Prim be with me in every way possible. A tear escapes my eyes as I look at Peeta, but with a smile in my face. He smiles back and proposes, "Is March 27 ok? It's a Saturday so everybody will be available." I nod in agreement. A bell rings, which means the bread is ready. Peeta stands up to get the bread. I look at my ring with one thought in my head; _Prim, I miss you so much!_ Peeta comes back with oven hot bread and places them in a basket in the middle of the table. We finish dinner quietly.

When we are done, Peeta gets his sketchbook from the living room and lies on the sofa drawing. It's my turn to do the dishes. As I scrub the grease from Peeta's plate, I spot a mockingjay on the window sill. It is singing, but the window is closed so I can't hear it. I put the plate down and open the window letting the mockingjay fly into the house. I hear its sweet tune as I scrub the dishes. When I finish, the mockingjay leaves the house as if entertaining my ears while I scrub.

I walk over to the living room's door and silently watch Peeta drawing. I love to watch him draw. He drifts off to another universe where the pain and suffering of the past never happened. I take a look at his drawing. He normally draws people, landscapes, or vivid memories. What he was drawing was none of those. He was drawing a mockingjay holding in its beak a Primrose. I was right; he wanted the mockingjay and the primrose to be always together.


	7. Please read! Important!

**Hi! It's mockingjay45! I am having a writer's block so I would appreciate it if you can just be patient until I can finish chapter 7. Thanks for understanding.**

**P.S. If you have any ideas, send them to me and I may use them. Thank you.**


	8. Chapter 7

**I have written this chapter at least 3 different ways with three different things happening and none fitted! Thanks to ****JezTheMockingjay74 and CarolinaPhoenixfor giving me the inspiration for this chapter and the following two.**

Part 7

Finishing touches

1 month later

It is March 26 already, almost a month since the proposal. Peeta and I have been working on his wedding for so long already it just feels like a routine to wake up and start discussing about the guests, cake, party, ECT. Today is going to be our busiest day. When I wake up, Peeta is not by my side. He needed to wake up early to get his tuxedo fitted so that he can get an early start on the cake frosting. He has worked on the cake almost a week now, but he won't let me see it. I change to a blue shirt and gray jeans and walk down to get some breakfast. I also have a lot do so I just make myself a quick sandwich and some coffee. I am halfway done when I hear the doorbell ring: Effie is here. I walk over to the door leaving the sandwich and the coffee on the kitchen counter. "Katniss!"She greets, "Time has flied since I got the invitation. Aren't you exited?"

"I am!" I reply honestly. We quickly moved to the bedroom and I take out a black dress with wing shaped sleeves and feather-like texture, resembling a mockingjay. Effie helps me get it on. She was right; I had gone through so much activity last month that I started to get thinner. Effie had come over several times already to make the dress tighter and tighter. I stand in front of the mirror as Effie pushes safety pins through the delicate, burned fabric. As I look at myself I go through the classic bride checklist. _Something old, my mockingjay dress. Something new, a recently bloomed primrose I will get tomorrow. Something borrowed, a pearl necklace I from Effie. Something blue… _I am missing something blue. I calm myself down as Effie finishes placing the pins.

She grabs now the black thread and slowly places it inside the needle. She starts to saw around me keeping the upper part of the dress tight and the lower part flowing. I feel her needle rub my body several times, when it finally pierces it. "Ow!" I scream.

"Sorry!" Effie responds. She pinches me a few more times before she is done. She helps me take the dress off. I, through much arguing have convinced Effie that I would not have some stylish, over exaggerated hair do, only my braid. We slowly place the dress back in the closet and go down to the living room. Effie, once controlled, turns out to be a great wedding planner. I remember that when we first called her to help us with the wedding was to find someone to host the ceremony. She came over and started to link that to every detail. Peeta talked me into letting her help. She made life much easier for us. She partly helped Peeta, and partly helped me.

When we sit down, Effie takes out an agenda from her purse. In it she has the guests, dates for preparation, everything that needed to be bought and a plan b covering every aspect that could go wrong. I don't know how she can fit all of that information in a single place. "So," she starts, "Beetee said he won't make it to the ceremony, but he may make it to the party. Octavia, Venia, and Flavius are staying with me. They will arrive on time. Portia will arrive tonight and pass the night on my house. Greasy Sae will make it on time. Johanna is going to car pool Annie and Jesub. They all will make it on time. Delly and her husband are staying at a local hotel. They will make it on time. Your mom will arrive tomorrow morning. She will make it on time. Peeta's groomsmen, Daimon and Suja live close to the meadow and will definitely make it on time. Haymitch will make it on time, but I can't guarantee you he will be sober. "

"What about Gale?" I ask, "Has he confirmed anything?"

"I have heard nothing from Gale." Effie informs. Since I told him about the wedding, Gale hasn't called back or sent me anything. She sees the look in my eye reflecting disappointment. She quickly comforts, "Katniss, if she doesn't show up, it is probably because he feels it will be awkward for him and for you, not because he doesn't want to be there." I straighten up and Effie continues. Mostly she just says that everything is going according to schedule. Peeta and I will have to arrive three hours later. His groomsmen and my bridesmaids, Johanna and Annie, will arrive two hours early to help us get dressed up. Jonah, the judge, will arrive also two hours early.

I wanted Haymitch to play an important part in my wedding, but something that if he is drunk, it won't make that big a difference. He is in charge of the drinks, and will walk me to the altar. His job is simple, walk and choose beer. As Effie is taking off, Peeta arrives. He doesn't want me in the house when he is working on the cake in case I may peek, so I also head out. I walk into the woods until I arrive at the same little house I met two fugitives in, Twill and Bonnie. Effie has insisted on hanging a curtain in the middle so that Peeta and I can change without seeing each other. The curtain is already hanged and in each side there is a mirror and metal tubes sticking out of the wall so there is a place to hang my clothes.

I keep walking until I arrive at the waterfall of hope. The chairs are already set in their spots and the primroses are about to bloom. I picture the whole thing over and over again until it is late afternoon. I head home where Peeta is placing the frosting knife back on the counter. I am starving. I attempt to pull some soup out of the fridge but Peeta stops me knowing that I would see the cake if I open the fridge. He takes it out for me, heats it up and being so tired from working on the cake, goes straight to bed. I linger over the soup for half an hour. When I go upstairs, Peeta is already asleep. This is the last time I will ever see Peeta Mellark being single.


	9. Chapter 8

Part 8

The Day

When I wake up, Peeta is not next to me. Effie, in classic marriage spirit, had forbidden him to see me awake until the wedding. I take a shower and go downstairs. I make some tea instead of coffee, hoping it will relax me. I open the fridge to grab some leftover eggs and notice that the cake is gone. Peeta must be in the bakery right now fixing it. As soon as I leave, he will bring it back and set it in the table for the party. I eat my eggs and head upstairs where the mockingjay dress is hanging. I take the delicate piece of clothing out of the closet, grab a bag Effie prepared for me with all that I would need, and start to walk over to the house in the woods.

When I arrive, I am not surprised to see Effie already there, wearing a long, blue dress and holding a matching purse. What stuns me is that her face is the only way I can recognize her. Effie is not wearing a wig. She has long, blonde, silky hair that flows all the way to her waist. "Katniss!" she screams when she spots me. She excitedly hugs me. Now, I can definitely confirm she is Effie. "I was waiting for you! Let me show you how this is going to work out!" She walks me into my side of the house where tables have been set and some hair pins, brushes, and hair bands have been set. I hang the dress as she signals over to one of the tables, "Here is where the makeup is going to go." She signals over to another one, "here, anything for the hair." She signals over to the last table, "and here, all the accessories! That reminds me," Effie opens her purse and takes out a long pearl necklace. She places it on the accessory table. "I have to go outside to wait for Peeta and Jonah, but you can start primping up if you want, and I will be with you as soon as I can."

She leaves me alone inside of the house. I decide to open the bag and look at what Effie thought essential. The first thing I take out is a scrambled piece of paper. As I start to read it, I realize they are my bows. I place it over on the accessory table. The next thing I take out is an extra large can of hairspray. I realized before that hairspray might be needed, but I had no idea I would ever need this much. I place it over at the hair table. Inside the bag, I feel another can, but when I take it out, I find out it's a spray-on deodorant. I roll my eyes at the idea of this being crucial. I place it on the accessory table. The next things I take out are red lipstick, lip gloss, blush, transparent nail polish, and smoky eyes eye shadow. I place them all on the makeup table. I find a hair ribbon at the bottom and place it at the hair table. Convinced the bag is empty, I turn it upside down. A metal circle hits the floor. I pick it up realizing it's not an ordinary metal circle, it's a pin, my mockingjay pin. I place it directly on the dress and go outside to see the primroses.

As I close the door I see a man, in its late 30's walking over to Effie. He has orange hair and pale skin. He is wearing a black tuxedo. I don't recognize him, but Effie does. "Jonah!" She welcoming screams. I realize now, that he is the man who is going to marry us. He seems fairly young to be a judge. I see them talking but I can't hear them. I decide to leave them alone and walk deeper into the forest. After I walk for about tem minutes I find a patch of recently bloomed primroses. I slowly take the primrose out of the dirt. When I walk back to the house, Effie calls me over. "Katniss, I want you to meet Jonah. He will be the judge who will marry Peeta and you."

"Nice to meet you." He greets. We shake hands.

Effie announces, "He is very experienced. He has done many weddings in the past. He is also a trustful friend of mine. I bet you have to get ready so I won't bother you anymore." They start to walk away as I head into the house.

Inside, I grab a brush and start running it through my hair. After a few minutes of brushing, I make sure that my hair is all straighten up. I divide my hair into three sections and start braiding it. When I am done, I hold it in its place with hair pins and a hair band. After this, I spray it with a large amount of hairspray. I place the primrose over my ear and give myself a long look at the mirror. I never thought I would be preparing myself for this occasion. I decide to take off my heels for now.

After a few minutes of waiting, I hear a knock in the door. I open it and let Annie, Johanna, and Jesub in. Annie and Johanna are both wearing the same red dress. Jesub is wearing a black tuxedo, with a small bowtie. He is sent to the other side of the curtain so that Johanna and Annie can help me get dressed. They start to paint my nails and quickly dry off. I strap off my clothes as the help me get into my mockingjay dress. When they are tightening it, I hear the door open. Peeta is here. There is much activity on the other side of the curtain. I start to put on makeup when Effie announces there are five minutes left until Annie and Johanna have to leave. Before leaving the congratulate me and wish me good luck. I am applying eye shadow when they leave. They close the door but don't move. Then, I hear a voice I never expected to hear.

"Is she dressed?" Gale asks. The girls say nothing but I know one nodded because the next thing I hear is, "May I come in?" I am sure they are as stunned as I am because I hear no response. The next thing I know is that the door opens. I turn around and see Gale in a black tuxedo smiling at me. I can't help to smile back. He made it.

"Hi, didn't know if you were coming." I inform.

"Honestly, I wasn't sure myself," he responded, "but I decided I couldn't miss your day." We hugged. I did really miss him. "I brought you a gift." He says. He pulls out from his shirt two small blue earrings. He hands them to me with a smile in his face. "I've better let you finish getting ready. I can't stay for long; I have work later. Good luck, Katniss." He announces leaving the room. I now feel this is the best day of my life. I finish getting ready by putting on the pearl necklace and the earrings.

As I put on my high heels, Effie knocks. "It's time." She announces. I head outside where Effie is holding a bouquet of primroses. Haymitch is all dressed up and surprisingly sober. He extends his arm so I can hold it. When we finally arrive at the waterfall I hear the wedding song playing from a high quality radio.

I walk down the altar happy to see everyone I love sitting there in my day. As Haymitch let's go of my arm, he whispers, "Good luck, sweetheart." Jesub comes right behind us holding the wedding rings. Jonah starts to say everything he always says in a wedding. When he is in the middle, I spot Gale standing up and leaving. My smile slowly fades and is replaced by a fake one. _Snap out of it! _I think, _you are marrying the man you love! Be happy for yourself. _I try to ignore what happened for the rest of the wedding. It comes time to say, "I do" and sign some paperwork. When we are done, we exchange rings, and Jonah proclaims, "You are now husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." Peeta kisses me and everything else seems to melt away. This is the kiss of a lifetime.


	10. Chapter 9

**Note: In the future there are no c.d.'s but music codes that are like Nintendo games but smaller. Also, the meadow song is completely unoriginal. It was originally written by Suzanne Collins in ****The Hunger Games.**

Part 9

Party

After the wedding, we all go directly to the party. Peeta was supposed to take care of the food. We quickly move to the party as the guests linger a little. When we arrive, I see how much work Peeta has put into this dinner. Placed on the dining table there is spaghetti, meatloaf, steaks, Caesar salad, onion soup, meatballs, roasted chicken, noodle soup, and many other dishes I haven't seen before. On the middle there is a big cardboard cylinder. I guess that Peeta really didn't want me to see his creation until it is time. I help Peeta move the couches in the living room to the side, making room for the dancing area. He starts to browse through the music codes and connects the stereo while I roll and place it inside a closet. We then open a table for the gifts next to the door.

The first guest to arrive is Haymitch, with two full boxes of his best drinks and a small wrapped up box. Peeta places them on the kitchen counter as I lead him to a couch. He leaves the smaller box on the gift table. We chat for a while until the next guest arrives. It is Effie already in a different, sea green dress. She has a really large box wrapped in white. She leaves it on the table and goes to the living room. She starts to peek in every detail in the wedding. According to her, we got most of the timing wrong. Haymitch and Effie discuss on the quality of the wedding for at least 10 minutes, but it felt like an hour. _Lucky Peeta_, I think, _arranging liquor in the kitchen while I have to sit and listen through this conversation. _When the bell rings again, I am completely relieved. I open the door and find my mom, holding a gift bag with the words "congratulations" on it and bells surrounding it. She tells us about her work and life in another district. Next, Beetee shows up. His gift is wrapped in newspaper, but I am not mad because I know he had barely enough time to show up, even less to buy a gift and wrap it up. He tells us what is not confidential about his work and how he has increased his technological skills.

Johanna, Jesub, and Annie show up next. Johanna has a small box wrapped up, Jesub has a card, and Annie has another larger box and an envelope. They leave their gifts on the table. "Katniss," Annie announces, "Gale told me to give you this." She hands over the envelope. I open it. In a white paper, handwritten, I read: _Katniss, if you are reading this, it's because I left your wedding early. I am really ashamed if I caused you any pain or sadness. I left because I couldn't bare it myself. I couldn't see the woman I love marry somebody else. I am sorry, but whenever I talk to you, the image will be in my head haunting me. To avoid pain for both of us, I am cutting you off, completely. Sorry, Katniss, but it's for the best of both. Goodbye, Gale._ I hold my tears as I read this, not wanting to make anybody worry. I give myself a moment to make the happiness come back and join the guests in the living room.

Peeta soon joins. Delly and his husband show up next followed by Greasy Sae, and Peeta's groomsmen. When everybody is here, Peeta announces, "Let's start eating." We all walk over to the dining table. I take a little bit of everything, and Haymitch chooses a really elegant wine for Peeta and me to drink. I have to stop Haymitch from giving Jesub light beer and replace it with apple cider. Peeta and I sit next to each other as we eat. I keep staring at the white cylinder in the middle of the table. "Can't wait?" Peeta whispers. I give him a smile that says, you already know the answer. "You are going to like it." He responds. I still have half of the food in my plate and I am almost full. I want to eat until I am completely full, but that means I won't be able to try Peeta's cake.

When everybody is done, Peeta and Haymitch go to each side of the table and lift the white cylinder. It is the most beautiful cake I have ever seen. It is a five floor cake. On the first floor, everything is covered in green frosting resembling grass. Then there are four wood stands that resemble tree bark going up to the second floor. The second floor is covered in frosting resembling primroses. Then there are four more tree bark stands leading to the third floor. The third floor is covered in red, yellow, and orange frosting resembling fire. After that there are three more tree bark stands leading to the fourth floor. The fourth floor is blue with birds flying around. There are two more tree bark stands leading to the last floor. The last floor resembles clouds with mockingjay cookies around it and in the middle, the classic husband and wife dolls. It is so beautifully crafted it feels like a shame to tear it apart. We all admire the cake for a minute before Peeta goes to the kitchen to get a knife and some plates.

Peeta and I cut two slices of cake, one for me and one for him. We do the classic, feed each other cake tradition. He dibs my whole nose in frosting, so I dib from his chin to the top of his nose in frosting. We both laugh. We go to the bathroom to wash out faces. "Did you like it?" Peeta asks.

"No," I respond. Peeta little let down before I add, "Loved it!" We walk back to the kitchen where Effie is serving to everyone a slice of cake. Some people take two slices, some even three. If I wasn't full only to get one, I would probably have eaten the entire cake by myself. "You know what I was laughing about when I read the letter from Annie one month ago?" Peeta asks. I shake my head. He responds "I wasn't sure what to do with the last floor, so I called Annie for advice, and in the letter, she suggested using real mockingjays for the last floor. Later I had the idea to add mockingjays, but made out of cookies." I laugh at Annie´s idea. When everybody is full, we move to the living room where Effie grabs a music code, and places it on the stereo. Peeta grabs me into the dance floor as Effie announces, "Ladies and gentlemen Mr. and Mrs. Mellark's first dance!" The music starts slowly, like a lullaby. When I hear the first words, I know which song it is.

_Deep in the meadow_

_Under the willow_

_A bed of grass_

_A soft green pillow_

Peeta slowly leads me into the dance. I feel like walking in clouds. It's only me and Peeta. I can hear his heartbeat in perfect match with mine. I look at his blue eyes through the entire dance. I start to sing, "_This is the place where I love you." _This is the moment you can never forget. He joins me as we both sing, _"This is the place where I love you." _


	11. Epilogue

Epilogue

I am tightening my braid when I hear a five year old voice screaming, "Mommy! Time to go!" I look at myself in the mirror wearing the only gown that could fit me. Not many gowns are design to fit a seven month pregnant belly. I grab my purse and head downstairs where Peeta and my five year old daughter are waiting.

"You have Johanna's gift?" I ask. My daughter nods holding out a small white box.

Peeta walks over to me and whispers in my ear, "Remember when we did this?"

"I think we still have leftover cake." I joke. He laughs and walks to the kitchen to get a big white box with a cake inside it. "Ready?" I ask

"Ready." He responds as all three of us head outside.


	12. Afterword

**Acknowledgement**

**I would like to thank first to my great friend for introducing me to this site and giving the courage to post the story. I would also like to thank JezTheMockingjay74, ****Emilie12, citruszen, CarolinaPhoenix, Jayfeatherisgr8, M. B. Chesterson, and Rachel6543 for encouraging me to keep writing, especially to my very first follower, ****JezTheMockingjay74. I am so honored to be liked by so many people. I never thought I would make it this far, and to all of those newcomers, don't be afraid to post a story because you think it's crazy, weird, slow, or plainly bad; that is where works of art come from. Keep in touch for coming stories! Thank you!**


End file.
